Saturday 6 May 2000 14.09 EDT
First published on Saturday 6 May 2000 14.09 EDT

In a café just below the Blue Mosque, four elderly ladies are lunching lightly. You'd take them for expatriate Brits who'd spent dusty decades in Istanbul; in fact, they're Home Counties tourists on a city break. The previous evening, I spied them in another local eaterie discussing spiritual salvation while deftly placating their flirtatious waiter with cigarettes. Snug and safe, they could have been in a teashop in a cathedral close.

It takes more than soccer hooligans or earthquakes to knock the shimmer off Istanbul for its devotees. Both of last year's quakes were well away from the city. The recent murder of two Leeds United fans took place on the other side of the metropolis from the quarter where most historic sites cluster: this is Sultanahmet lying in the crook of the watery arm formed by the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn.

Happily, the worst that generally befalls tourists is the smothering entreaties of carpet-sellers from morning till midnight, or being overcharged in a restaurant. Such minor mishaps don't dim the unique, undisputed lure of Istanbul as the clasp that hooks Europe to Asia.

The history

So much has happened in it, the city is a pop-up history book, or rather a pop-down book, since many of its early layers of history lie buried or are partly excavated. The eyeline that meets you is of a squabble of domes and minarets rising above city walls; waterfronts clogged with cargo boats and ferries; bridges making daring leaps over the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. And, in May at least, almost as much greenery as in central London.

The timeline is three millennia long, and complicated. But it's useful to remember a few key bits: the Greek and Roman origins; the founding of Constantinople in 330 (by Constantine, of course); the start of the intermittent Arab sieges of the city around 670, which culminated in 1453 when Sultan Mehmet II conquered the city for Islam.

Istanbul has two faces. It presents itself as a holy city, crammed with mosques, some big as soccer stadiums, others just ancient, tiny kiosks. But it's also a maritime metropolis, living by and trading on its waters. However, if you stay in Sultanahmet, which is stuffed with many small and medium-size hotels and has most of what you'll want to see and do on a brief visit, there's no need to cross the Golden Horn (except for the pleasure of experiencing its bridges) or the Bosphorus (except to enjoy one of the many ferry trips).

The guides

The best aren't necessarily from the tour companies. Those I encountered (at around £18 for a half day; £36 a full day) skimped on info, either historical or practical. Their favourite phrase was: "Now we're going to X or Y, where I will give you free time."

There's no getting away from Topkapi, the palace built soon after Arab conquest and occupied by sultans for almost 300 years. It's a sort of Turkish Hampton Court, with endless sets of chambers quadrangled round lawns and gardens. You could easily spend all day there for the £3 admission. But the chances are you'll just want to loll on the lawns after a couple of hours of the Hall of the Halbardiers with Tresses, the Dormitory of the White Eunuchs (not much fun there, after lights out), the Door of Repentance or even the Harem (there's an extra charge, and always a queue).

Mercifully close is Aya Sophia (the church of the Divine Wisdom). For 900 years it was a fabled domed basilica of Christian art and worship. But how quickly even great architecture can be adapted to new purpose! Three days after Mehmet II entered the city, the edifice had been adapted as a mosque, ready for prayers at Friday noon. Now, it's a monumental museum which you can enter for £3.

To see a proper prayed-in building, go to the Blue Mosque, which dates from the 16th century. Its massiveness and emptiness (except for the faithful) are its most impressive features. Both are rather negative attributes, which make it something of a disappointment. It looks at its best at night when its exterior is brilliantly lit, turning it into a Disney-like frenzy of domes and minarets, a sort of mad prayer-factory. Anyway, its touchingly beautiful.

The markets

There are two must-sees. The Spice Market (also known as the Egyptian Bazaar) is housed in a handsome building almost on the waterfront. Inside, everything is arranged in apple-pie order, reminiscent of old-fashioned chain grocers. Caviar to candy, apricots to apple pie. Beware, though: behind it, lies a whole chaos of streets, teeming with open-air stalls with everything from wooden coat-hangers to mobile phones - the full gamut of the Turkish economy, in fact.

The Covered Market is the grandmother of all those arcaded municipal markets, once the pride of all big provincial cities in Britain. Istanbul's overshadows them all: jewellery stores glittering like Asprey's, endless carpets, and caffs to delight any London cabbie. The scale is immense.

The baths

There is one place, hung with beautiful carpets for sale, where you won't be urged to buy; where you'll be treated with indifference, unless you ask. It's a beautifully-restored Lady Hurrem Baths. The galleries were built in the 16th century as baths to serve worshippers at the nearby Aya Sofia. Admission is free.

Even better than a real Turkish bath (several ancient, over-rated ones are in business, for both men and women) is something eerily different. It's the so-called Basilica Cistern (tickets £1.25), a cool, colonnaded watertank built by Justinian the Great in the mid 6th century to sustain the population in times of siege.

Illuminated only by red lamps flickering at the base at a few of its 336 columns, and with a soundtrack of dripping water and electronic music, you can wander safely round in utter tranquillity. If the authorities allowed the water to rise a few feet, Istanbul would have an amazing municipal flotation tank.

The joyrides

For 25 pence (single) you can ride all the way on Istanbul's single tram line, west through Sultanahmet to the suburbs - just to give you a 30-minute taste of their drabness. And for about £3, you can buy a ticket for one of the daily Bosphorus cruises, stopping at, for instance, Sariyer, after 90 minutes or so, lunching at one of the many fish restaurants, and taking an afternoon boat back.

Food and drink

You can easily have lunch or dinner in the small restaurants of Sultanahmet for around £10. Whatever else you imbibe, drink bottled water (it's as cheap as 30 pence). And keep the Immodium handy, just in case.

The practicals

John Cunnigham travelled with Britsih Airways Holidays (01293 723121/1810), staying at the three-star Hotel Avicenna. A two-night break including flights costs £375pp until June 15, £395 until the end of August.